writing-box; and there he found let ters of the defendant, which totally deprived him of the fond doubts which he had entertained of the truth of his wife's narrative. These letters, however, although damning proofs to him, were all that he could adduce to the jury as legal evidence of the adultery; but the Attorney-General was afraid the jury would consider them as too strong to leave even upon their minds a doubt of the fact which the plaintiff was compelled by this process of the law to-day to establish.

[The letters, to the number of seven, were read: the earliest were addressed, "My dear Caroline," and talked of the "connection" which had taken place between the parties. One appeared to be an answer to a proposal of elopement on the part of Mrs Mortimer, and of living with him. It said, that the defendant, mistrustful of his knowledge of the world, (he then being not of age,) had taken the advice of a sincere friend upon the subject; and the following was the result of his consultation with that friend, who was the only person to whom he had revealed his connection with a lady in her rank of life, and to whom he had not divulged her name:- -"Q. Shall I suffer her to live

with me? A. Undoubtedly not.-Q. But I have promised her she shall. A. That is no matter your own character, your situation in life, the feelings of a mother, forbid it. You will destroy her happiness, if you do.-Q. But I shall destroy Mrs Mortimer's happiness, if I do not. A. Not a bit of it; the lust of the moment may make her think so; but depend upon it, a very few years will convince her that to prosecute a sin is not the road to repentYou have broken a positive commandment; and a perseverance in the crime would only drag damnation upon both her head and yours. Think not so highly of a promise to do wrong, made in an unguarded moment."-The defendant wrote to Mrs Mortimer, that he had committed this advice to paper the moment his friend left the room; having before determined to abide by it, let it be what it might. It seemed that the lady had, in answer to this letter, threatened violence

ance.

upon herself; for the defendant's next epistle to her was a long dissuasion against suicide. The other letters were less important: they blamed Mrs Mortimer for her indiscreet disclosure of the connection between her and the defendant to the

plaintiff; and one or two of them talked of intended, and alluded to effected, meet'ings in the neighbourhood of the plaintiff's residence.]

The Attorney-General concluded, that the defendant had, very much, to his credit, taken the advice of this judicious friend, and had not added protection to adultery. He had no doubt but the jury, except in the actual injury, for which the plaintiff was entitled to a positive recompence, would think that the defendant was a man much more to be pitied than blamed.

The Rev. Edward Forster proved the marriage of the plaintiff to Miss Bedingfield on the 13th of January, 1800, at St George's, Hanover-square. The witness visited the couple for the first season after their marriage, when they had a house in town, and spoke to their happy appearance. Other witnesses concurred.

Mr Topping, for the defendant, would not trouble the jury by questioning the fact of the adultery, which the letters of the defendant could not but prove to every conscientious mind; and addressed himself solely to the mitigation of damages. As the plaintiff's counsel had commended the defendant's conduct, save in the mere offence itself, so neither had Mr Topping any instructions to censure that of the plaintiff, whom the defendant did not know, over whose threshold he had never passed, and with whose very person he was unacquainted, having never seen him. This was not, therefore, the case of a deliberate villain, going about to seduce the wife of his friend; and the learned counsel would undertake to say, from the relative ages of the parties, (Mrs Mortimer having been at the time of the adulte.

ry one or two and thirty, and the defendant only about nineteen,) that it was she who seduced him, and not he that seduced her. Was it to be believed, that a young gentleman of that age would address himself criminally to a married lady of more than thirty, without the most unequivocal advances on her part? No! she seemed to have practised all the arts of woman upon him; and to have relied so confidently upon his affording her an asylum, as to have openly boasted to her husband of the conquest she had made. Under the advice of a friend, how ever, the defendant was firm in refusing to receive her; and then the adulteress had recourse to the last ar tifice of her sex, and threatened violence upon herself.

The jury found their verdict for the plaintiff-Damages 1001.

DERRY.-LOSS OF THE SALDANHA FRIGATE. The Saldanha frigate, commanded by the Hon. T. Packenham, was lost in Loch Swilly, in a dreadful gale of wind, in the night of the 4th, and every soul on board perished. In the gale of Wednesday or Thursday, her masts were thrown on shore with her name on them. She had sailed from Loch Swilly a few days before with the Talbot in company, and they were returning into the loch when the Saldanha struck. One man got to land, but so weak he could not speak, and died in a few mi. nutes. Captain Packenham's body, and above 200 of the brave fellows, have been washed on shore already.

9th.-HORRID MURDERS.-About 12 o'clock on Saturday night, Mr Marr, who keeps a lace and pelisseware-house, at No 29, Ratcliff-highway, sent his female servant to purchase some oysters for supper, whilst he was shutting up the shop-windows. On her return she rung the bell repeatedly without any person coming to the door. This alarmed her, and she com

municated her fears to Mr Parker, the adjoining neighbour, who obtained admission by the back way; and on entering the warehouse, he beheld a spectacle, which so petrified him with horror, that it was with difficulty he could make known the sad catastrophe which had befallen the whole of this unfortunate family. Mr Marr was found lying near the window, dead, with his skull broken. His wife, who, it would seem, had come to his relief from below stairs, on hearing a scuffle, had been met by the villains at the top of the stairs, where she was found deprived of life; her head was too shockingly mangled for description. The shop-boy, to all appearance, had made more resistance than the rest, or else they had not made so sure of their blow; for the counter, which extends the whole length of the warehouse, was found bespattered with his blood and brains from one end of it to the other; and the body of the unfortunate youth lay prostrate on the floor, weltering in his gore. Nor did the work of the blood-thirsty villains stop here. Even a child in the cradle, only four months old, found, in its infancy, innocence, and incapacity of impeaching them, no protection from their barbarous hands. It was discovered dead in the cradle. Such refined cruelty is hardly surpassed in the annals of human de pravity. The monsters left behind them a shipwright's large mallet, its head weighing from two to three pounds, and its handle about three feet long; a ripping chisel; and a wooden mallet about four inches square, with a handle of about eighteen inches: the ripping chisel is also about eighteen inches long, made of iron, and is such as is generally used for ripping sheathing from off ships. The murderers did not procure one shilling's worth of property. Mr Marr had in his pocket from four to five pounds: and in a drawer up stairs was 1521. 12s.

6d. besides some loose money in the till, every farthing of which has been found. The following is a description of the premises and adjoining build ings:-The house stands in Ratcliffhighway, between St John's-hill and Artichoke-hill, both of them thorough fares leading to and terminating in a line with Pennington-street, composed of a compact square of dwelling-houses, encircling a piece of ground for the general use of the inhabitants, to which there is no passage but through the premises of the neighbours. All these houses are inhabited except one at the corner of Artichoke-hill, leading into Pennington-street. On the ruffians being alarmed by the ringing of the bell, they went through the small yard detached off by Mr Marr, got over the gateway into the enclosed space of ground, and broke open the outer and inner doors of the empty house, and made their escape into Pennington-street, from whence all trace was lost.

On Tuesday an inquest was held on the bodies.

Margaret Jewel, the servant maid, stated, that when she went out on Saturday night, within a few minutes of twelve, by her mistress's direction, she received from her master, who was busy behind the counter, a 17. note. On going out she turned to the left to go to the shop of a person named Taylor for oysters. That shop was, however, shut; and as she returned again she passed the window of her master's shop, and saw him still behind the counter. She then went to St John's Hill to pay a bill due to a ba ker, who was also shut up. She then proceeded to several places to purchase oysters, but found none open. “Finding I could not get the oysters, I returned again to the door of my master's house; I found it closely shut up, and no light to be seen; I think I was out twenty minutes: I rang the 6

bell and no one answered; I rang repeatedly. peatedly. Whilst I was at the door the watchman went by on the other side of the way, with a person in charge; I certainly heard some one coming down stairs, who I thought was my master coming to let me in; I am certain I heard the child cry very low ; I rang again and knocked at the door with my foot repeatedly, when a man came up to the door and insulted me ; I thought I would wait till the watchman came, which he shortly did, and called the hour of one. The watchman knocked and rang the bell, and called Mr Marr, through the key-hole; Mr Murray, the next door neighbour, then came out, and said there was a strong light backwards; Mr Murray went backwards, while another watchman, who had joined the first, made an alarm; Mr Murray, got into the house backwards, and opened the street door, when the watchman and myself entered." [Here the girl was so much affected that she fainted.]

John Murray" I am a pawn-broker residing at No. 30, Ratcliff-highway, next to the house of the deceased Mr Marr. About ten minutes after twelve o'clock on Sunday morning last, I was sitting at supper with my family, when I heard a noise in Mr Marr's house, which appeared to be on the shop floor, and resembled the pulling of a chair, and the sound of a voice, as if proceeding from the fear of correction, like a boy's, or a woman's. This all occurred in about a minute's space. A little before one, I heard a ringing at Mr Marr's bell; I went to the door, and found the watchman and the girl. I went to the back of the house and called out, "Mr Marr!" three or four different times; no answer was made, and I came again to the front of the house, I saw a light at the back of the one pair; I told the watchman to ring louder, and that I would endeavour to

get into the house by the back-door; I went to the back of the house, and threw myself over the fence, and finding the yard door open, immediately proceeded to the landing place of the first floor, where I found a candle burning; seeing the two doors open where Mr Marr used to sleep, I called out, "Marr, Marr, your window-shutters are not fastened," but nobody answered me, and on account of its being the bed-room, I did not go in with the candle I went through the shop to the front door, to let the watchman in; when I got to the door, at the foot of the stairs which lead into the shop, I saw the boy, James, lying dead on the floor, just within that door, and within six feet of the foot of the stairs; his head was bleeding, and his brains were visible; going on further towards the shop door I saw Mrs Marr lying dead close to the street door with her face downwards, and her feet against the door, and her head bleeding very much. I immediately opened the door and let the watchman and several others in. I then began to look for Mr Marr, whom I found lying dead behind the counter, with his head very near the window; his face was downwards, and he was bleeding very much about the head; while I was standing by the body of Mr Marr, the servant and others came out of the kitchen and said the child in the cradle was dead. Soon after I went down into the kit chen, and saw the child in the cradle, bleeding about the mouth and throat. Soon after which one of the police officers shewed me a large maul bloody. Mr Marr came into the house the latter end of April. He seemed to be about the age of 24; Mrs Marr about the same age, and the child about 14 weeks. The whole family consisted of the four who were murdered besides the servant girl."

George Olley, the watchman, corroborated the testimony of Mr Mur

po

ray, and stated, that he was present in one of the back rooms when the lice officers found the maul, the head of which was upon the ground, and the handle leaning against a chair; it was covered with blood, and some hairs were upon it. He also saw the chisel which was afterwards found, but upon which there was no blood.

William Salter, the surgeon, gave the following description of the wounds the deceased had received.

Timothy Marr the infant.-The left external temporal artery divided, the left side of the mouth laid open, with. a wound three inches in length, and several marks of violence on the left side of the face.

Celia Marr. The left side of the cranium fractured, the temporal bone totally destroyed, with a wound just above the articulation of the jaw two inches in length, then winding into the left ear, and a wound at the back of the ear.

Timothy Marr the elder. The nose broken, the occipital bone fractured, and a violent blow on the right eye.

James Biggs.-Several contusions on the head and nose, with the occipital bones dreadfully shattered, and the brains protruding.

The jury retired for a short time, and brought in their verdict of "Wilful Murder against some person or persons unknown, on each of the bodies."

Three men were seen near the shop of Mr Marr, for about half an hour on Saturday evening, and one of them during that time looking in at Mr Marr's shop-window. The description of two of these persons was given to the magistrates; of the third no information could be obtained. One of them, as appears from the description given, was dressed in a light-coloured sort of Flushing-coat, and was a tall lusty man; the other was dressed in a blue jacket, the sleeves of which were much

torn, and under which he appeared to have flannel sleeves, with a small-brim med hat on his head. The magistrates of Thames police office have offered a reward of 201. in addition to the 501. already advertised by St George's parish, for the discovery of either of the above-described persons. The report of Mr Marr being a witness on the recent trial of a Portuguese sailor at the Old Bailey, charged with the murder of a seaman, is incorrect. Mr Marr having been in business only seven months, he was never engaged in any parish duties, whereby he could have provoked the revenge of any individual. The mother of Mrs Marr, and two of her sisters, came from the country, intending to dine with her on Sunday, and did not hear of the dreadful destruction of their relatives until they reached the house. The effect which the intelligence had on them it would. be in vain to describe.

On Wednesday two men were apprehended, and examined at the Shadwell police office, on suspicion of being concerned in the murders. Mr Marr's premises had been undergoing a repair for some time. A Mr Pugh was engaged to superintend the carpenter's work; he employed a man who altered the shop windows. This man/applied for an iron chisel, already described as 20 inches in length; Mr Pugh had no such tool, but borrow ed one from a neighbour. After the man had completed his work, he was discharged, but did not return the chisel. Mr Pugh asked the man what he had done with it, as he borrowed the tool from a neighbour? The man replied, that it was on the premises, but could not find it; this happened three weeks ago. Mr Pugh called on Mr Marr, and begged he would search for the instrument, in order that it might be returned. A few days after Mr Marr informed Mr Pugh, that he had examined the house, and could not VOL. IV. PART I

find such an article; and no tidings were heard of the chisel until the morning of the fatal massacre, when it was found lying by the side of Mr Marr's body. Mr Pugh gave information of the circumstance, and the carpenter was brought up for examination. Mr Pugh and the person who lent the chisel wore to the identical marks being similar to the one delivered to the prisoner, who was committed for further examination. The next person charged was a man secured by the officers in a public-house, who stated, in the course of a conversation on the subject of the murder, on Tuesday night, that he knew the persons who had committed it. The officer immediately questioned him, and confined him on suspicion. The prisoner's story before the magistrates was so incoherent, that nothing could lead to a clue by which the offenders might be traced. He was discharged with a severe reprimand from the magistrates for uttering such improper and unfounded language."

On Thursday an immense concourse of spectators remained the whole day, in expectation of hearing some further disclosure relative to the recent massacre. The Earl of Sefton arrived at the Shadwell office soon after one o'clock, and had a long consultation with the magistrates, but retired before the examination of a girl, named Wilkie, whose name was mentioned as having threatened to murder Mrs Marr. She voluntarily surrendered herself for an investigation into her conduct, during her six months servitude in the unfortunate family, which she had left six weeks since. The girl completely satisfied the magistrates of her innocence, from her readiness to give every information she possessed relative to the family affairs during that time. She stated that she officiated as an assistant in the shop, and not as the maid servant, whose name was